This Side of the Scenery 2023 ——Shenzhen Nanshan, Zhuhai Xiangzhou, Hong Kong, Macao Regional Calligraphy Exchange Exhibition

In order to demonstrate the charm of calligraphy in the Greater Bay Area, This Side of the Scenery 2023 ——Shenzhen Nanshan, Zhuhai Xiangzhou, Hong Kong, Macao Regional Calligraphy Exchange Exhibition was held on 11th December 2023 in the Library of the University of Macau (UM), and the exhibition was last to 19th December. The exhibition is directed by the  Nanshan District Publicity Department of Shenzhen CPC  and the Shenzhen Calligraphers Association, organised by the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Macau, the Centre for Chinese History and Culture (CCHC) and the Associação Nacional dos Calígrafos de Macau, and co-organised by the UM Library, Shenzhen  Nanshan Federation of Literature and Art Circles, and Shenzhen Nanshan District Calligraphers Association, Zhuhai Xiangzhou District Calligraphers Association and China Calligraphers Association (Hong kong ).

The exhibition brought the audience and the authors of the calligraphy to appreciate the exhibits and exchange the ideas of writing skills related issues. The atmosphere was hot. Calligraphers from the four regions through this exchange platform, mutual appreciation, to promote the development of calligraphy in the four regions and contribute to the Bay Area calligraphy style. The 112 pieces of calligraphy works on display, bot cursive, running script, clerical script, regular script, seal script and other styles of calligraphy, reflecting the writing style of calligraphers from different regions. The works on display are either calm and steady or expressive, with a rich variety of forms and outstanding styles that embrace the spirit of traditional culture and contemporary Chinese values. It demonstrates not only the artists’ noble moral qualities and profound artistic attainments, but also their strong patriotism and sincere love for their country, as well as their passion for promoting the traditional art of calligraphy.

Literature and art are the trumpets of the times and can best represent the spirit of an era. Prof. Zhu Shutong, Director of the CCHC, said that it was remarkable that this exhibition was persistently held in the past few years under the influence of the epidemic. Through the This Side of the Scenery 2023, calligraphers from the Greater Bay Area have been meeting friends through calligraphy, promoting the development of calligraphy in the four regions, as well as promoting the development of the whole region with the vitality of culture. The exhibition also showed the calligraphy of four regions from different perspectives to reflect the artist’s artistic vision, spirituality, aesthetics, pen and ink skills and the value, that has also become a cultural brand of the Bay Area with a good brand effect and influence.

Chang Hongcai,  Chairman of Shenzhen Nanshan District Calligraphers Association, named the calligraphy exhibition as This Side of the Scenery 2023. In his view, the four calligraphy exchange exhibition is the use of calligraphy as a link between the four cultures, and across the different, looking for the same. The Calligraphy Exchange Exhibition of the four regions uses calligraphy to enhance cultural recognition and love among each other, and to strengthen cultural cohesion. To this end, he wrote a pair of couplets in simplified Chinese script, “The sound of the guqin is as clear as the sound of running water; the dream of poetry is as warm as spring.” to sing the good times of literature, calligraphy spring breeze, the font is dignified and thick, without losing the lively fun.